UK’S ARTS IN HEALTHCARE SUPPORTS ESTABLISHED, EMERGING ARTISTS IN KENTUCKY
Having five of his art pieces selected this year by the University of Kentucky’s Arts in Healthcare program for display in UK’s network of hospitals and physician offices resurrects the therapeutic role this program has played for Harley Fannin. Two years ago, the Art Inc. Kentucky affiliate and his wife found themselves in the hospital for three months, all day, every day while their preemie daughter was in the NICU at the University of Kentucky Hospital. “The doctors at UK saved our baby’s life, Fannin remembers.” “To be able to visit such a positive space when you are going through such a difficult time made a huge difference. The art gave me something to think about besides my own worries.”
Fannin was “honored and humbled” to learn his art was chosen by the Arts in Healthcare program from Art House Gallery and hopes that at least a few of his pieces will hang in the pediatric wing where he and his wife spent so much time. As one of the most recent Art Inc. affiliates, Fannin is grateful for the confidence boost that comes with knowing his work is now part of UK’s prestigious collection and will garner myriad views.
Fannin leans on musical influences to draw inspiration for his visual art. “(Guitarist) Stevie Ray Vaughn has influenced me more than anybody else,” Fannin explains. “So much of what he does on the guitar has this element of spontaneity. I know he’s played these same riffs or songs a million times, but it always feels spontaneous to me—like he just now thought of whatever he is playing. I strive for that same element of spontaneity in my own art.”
Fannin has recently embraced smaller-scale art in acrylic on canvas to keep framing and shipping costs down, helping to keep his work affordable for buyers. His favored subject matter is split into thirds—landscapes, still lifes, and whimsical pet portraits—with the latter attracting a growing number of commissions which Fannin paints from photographs supplied by ardent pet lovers.
This is not the first time that Arts in Healthcare program director Jason Akhtarekhavari has purchased art at ArtHouse Kentucky Gallery which is affiliated with Art Inc. Kentucky, a nonprofit providing business education and marketing support to Commonwealth artists working to turn their creativity into a sustainable source of income. Nor was Fannin’s art the only work selected to provide physical, mental, and emotional benefits to patients and the staff who treat them.
During this visit, four artists—Dawna Scripps, Nick Tudor, Frank Leake, and Harley Fannin—had works selected by Ahktarekhavari. While Scripps and Tudor have sold previously to the program, for Leake and Fannin it is an exciting new experience to have their art included.
Lexington artist Frank Leake has been creating art as a side gig since his graduation from the University of Kentucky in the early 1980s.
Leake notes, “I’ve displayed my work at coffee shops, done one-man shows, and participated in one gallery show over the years. I’ve sold many pieces throughout my life, but it was difficult to manage all that when I worked all the time.
“One of my biggest regrets is not going ahead and getting my master’s and pursuing a full-time art career,” imparts Leake, who worked throughout his college days as a waiter. “The same day I received my college diploma, I received an offer to go into restaurant management. The job allowed me to immediately begin paying off my college debt, so I took it.”
Leake has remained in the restaurant industry ever since. While he has enjoyed his 26-year management career with Cracker Barrel, as he nears retirement Leake is excited about re-focusing on his art.
Even working just in his off-time, Leake has been a prolific producer. His vibrant art certainly caught the attention of Ahktarekhavari, who purchased eight of Leake’s pieces, including one for his private collection. Leake’s mixed-media/collage pieces combine acrylic paints with paper, fiber, and a wide variety of “found” objects including wire, hardware cloth, and even crinkled gift-basket filler to create art in the abstract—bordering on surrealist—genre. The artist laughs, confessing that many of his works were created with materials destined for Cracker Barrel’s rubbish bin.
Art Inc. Kentucky, a Community Ventures social enterprise, is a non-profit, member-focused business and marketing incubator for artists and creatives, providing emerging and established artists and creatives with the services, resources, and educational opportunities needed to broaden their exposure, increase their income, and build long-term sustainable businesses. Art Inc. Kentucky also works to encourage cultural, economic and social investments in the community.
Art Inc. is proud to support Kentucky creatives as they work to build their artistic businesses. “We take a tremendous amount of pride in the fact that our artists’ work continues to be chosen by the University of Kentucky Hospital’s Arts In Healthcare program to adorn the hallways of hospitals and patient rooms. It’s a testament to the healing power of art as well as to the skill of our artists, and we are truly appreciative,” said Mark Johnson, president of Art Inc. Kentucky.
To learn more about turning your creative passion to profit, visit https://www.artinckentucky.org.